I have a complicated relationship with this book. Everything I love about the characters, I also hate.

Zadie creates characters fully imbued with theI have a complicated relationship with this book. Everything I love about the characters, I also hate.

Zadie creates characters fully imbued with the conflict and hypocrisies that arise from a combination of transnational, immigrant, multi-racial and religious identities. The insane ways these identities can manifest are clearly evident in each character, but at the same time those very complicated characters are incredibly stereotypical.

Two examples: Samad and (Clara's Mother).

Samad:It's impossible for me to think of Samad without thinking of innumerable other writers who've written about Samad, just by another name. Hanif Qureishi includes at least one Samad in each of his novels/screenplays/plays. Or at least those characters are precursors of Samad. If you've seen the movie, East is East, you know exactly what I'm talking about.